Latavia Roberson is speaking out and dishing dirt about her days of singing along as part of Destiny’s Child.
It’s been 12 years since Latavia set foot on stage in one of Mama Tina’s creations but I guess now is as good a time as any to spill the TEA on Beyonce’s dad/former manager Mathew Knowles… and how he used to make Kelly cry.
LeToya was the jokester, I was the sassy one, Beyonce was the mamma and Kelly the sensitive one.
In a recent interview with TheMirrorUK, Roberson speaks of their hectic rehearsal schedules, high-pressure shows, teenage hormones and how they all referred to Mathew as “Joe Jackson” for his stearn treatment of the group.
Matthew did not mince his words and it can be tough to take that kind of criticism when you are a little girl. We would try not to let it break us.
But Kelly was the sensitive one, and sometimes she would go to her room and cry.
Roberson reveals that she ?regrets losing her place in Destiny?s Child just as they were making it big in
She says she and original fourth member LeToya ?Luckett were both FORCED out of the group after they sent a dis?gruntled letter to manager ?Matthew, who promptly kicked them out of the group and replaced them with Farrah Franklin and Michelle Williams.
The band were initially called Girl?s Tyme and the original line-up was completed when ?Beyonce met LeToya at her school. They changed their name to Destiny?s Child in 1993 and were subject from the start to a strict training regime as ?Beyonce?s dad tried to break them into the ?music business.
Matthew Knowles quit his job with a pharm?aceutical company to become their full-time ?manager and Latavia says he acted like an army drill sergeant, making them sing as they jogged in the park and rehearse dance routines in the ?family living room for hours on end. They even held joint prayer sessions to ask God to help them get the record deal they craved so much. It was like the famously regimented childhood of the Jackson Five.
?We used to call him Joe Jackson,? says Latavia. ?It?s not like he beat us with his belt or anything, but he was very strict. Beyonce was the only one brave enough to stand up to him.?
LaTavia reveals how she and LeToya began to have ?serious issues? with ?Mathew as their manager.
?Things seemed unfair,? she says. ?Beyonce and Kelly had cars. I?m not saying pay checks were any ?different, but Matthew used to say a lot of crazy things like, ?Y?all should be glad I?m giving you money?.
We were happy for Matthew to stay on as manager, but we wanted another manager to work with him.?
They officially left Destiny?s Child in ?December 1999, when they were just 18.
?My one regret is that I should have spoken to Beyonce and Kelly before I sent the letter.
That is the one thing I would have done different. I would have gone to my sisters and discussed it with them. After that, we didn?t speak for many years.
Read Latavia’s full interview HERE.
I still don’t understand why she’s choosing NOW to speak about these things. It’s been 12 years… is she preparing for a tell-all or something?